The International Joint Commission (IJC) has established the Elk-Kootenai/y Watershed Study Board, which will look into cross-boundary mining pollution.
The Study Board will have several objectives in the coming years centred around gathering data on watershed health in the region.
“It mainly involves assessments, analysis of existing data and information,” said Dr. Glenn Benoy Director of Science and Engineering for the Canadian section of the IJC.
“Our role is to bring all the experts we can, along with those sitting on the Study Board, to help us make recommendations on what should be done next.”
A final report is expected to come by September 2026, with an interim report in the fall of 2025.
“We have a two-year time frame to do this work. It’s not a lot of time, but it should be enough time to deliver what’s asked of us in terms of trying to understand what we know so far, what knowledge systems have been brought forward to address the water pollution issues and what science and information is already available,” explained Benoy.
Benoy says this is a historic moment for Canada-United States transboundary relations as it is the first time Indigenous Peoples played a role in developing an IJC reference.
“This is the first time where the Ktunaxa Nation has been quite involved with the development of the work that has been given to us,” said Benoy.
The IJC will have opportunities for public engagement through the study process.
“The engagement plan is to keep the public, stakeholders and anyone who is interested informed of how our work is progressing,” said Benoy.
“People can always track our progress on our website, but there will also be points during the study where we’ll look to solicit input and feedback from the public.”
More: Ktunaxa Nation pleased to see progress on addressing Elk-Kootenay Watershed pollution (Mar 12, 2024)
More: Canadian and US governments commit to IJC referral on Elk-Kootenay watershed pollution (Mar 11, 2024)
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